Rotary building.



PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908.

T. F. GAYNORk ROTARY BUILD 4 APPLICATION IILBD NOV. 8, 1904. RENEWED IA 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 895,176. PATBNTBD AUG. 4, 1908.

T. F. GAYNOR.

ROTARY BUILDING. AIPLIOATIOH FILED N018, 1904 RENEWED JAN. 3, 190a.'

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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'PA'TENTED AUG. 4, 1908. T. P. GAYNOR.

ROTARY BUILDING.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 8, 1904. RENEWED JAR. 3, 1908.

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PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908.

TJRGAYNOR.

ROTARY BUILDING.

APPLICATION FILEDXOV. 8, 1904. RENEWED JAN. 3, 1908.

5 SHEETS-SHEET L mkwgimwu T. P. GAYNOR.

PATBNTBD AUG. 4, 1908.

ROTARY BUILDING.

APPLI'JAI'IdN FILED NOVA), 1904. RENEWED JAN. 3, 190B.

5 SHEETS-*SHEIBT 5.

INVENTOR THOMAS F. GAYNOR, NEW YORK, N. Y.

I ROTARY BUILDING.

No. 895,176. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 4, 1908.

. Application filed. November 8, 1904, Serial No. 231,944. Renewed. January 3, 1908. Serial No. 409.238.

To all whom it concern-.- 7

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. GAYNOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn borough, New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Iniprovements in Rotary Buildings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rotary buildings, and it consists in constructing a building with a rotary foundation provided with means for its rotation audits superstructure,

. the object being to rovide a building with the advantages of tie rotative principle as applied thereto. A dwelling house thus constructed, can be turned around atwill, and any of its sides presented to the sunlight or shade, or any view of the landscape desired can be obtained from the interior, or the living or sleeping rooms can be presented to the sun or breeze or else away from cold winds or storms in the winter season.

For amusement or educational purposes, a building can he made with its exterior formed in the she e of a globe decorated to represent the cart and the earths axial rotation simulated to observers outside of it, while its interior can be used for panoramic or'cycloramic views or objects, or any other purpose that may be desired. An endless variety of applications of this rotativc principle of construction can be made with great ac vantage, but a rotary dwelling house and a rotary globe will be described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanyingv drawings which are to be taken in connection herewith and which form a part of the specification, and in'which similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:Figure 1, represents a front elevation'of a-dwelling house constructed according to my invention, the

-foundation being partly in section and other wise indicated in dotted lines that the rota tive mechanism'may be seen. Fig. 2, is a plan view of Fig. 1, on the ground floor plane. Fig. 3, is a. front elevation of my invention made in the shape of a globe representing the earth and showing the means of its support from the round and the kiosks over its entrance and exit to and from its interior which are below the ground level. This figure aiso shows an illuminating search light mechanism at the top of the globe to simulate the .from the kiosks to and from the e aurora borealis or northern lights phe nomena, at night, by its proper operation when desired. Fig. 4, is a vertical section of Fig. 3, showing the interior floor construction, the elevator mechanism which carry the visitors to and from the'several floors, and provided with seats if they are to remain in the cars and view the scenery therefrom.

This fi ure shows the underground 1passages evators, and the motor mechanisms and eneral ar-' rangement of the foundation and oundation floor of the structure. It also shows upon some 0 the other floors. Fig. 5, is a. horizontal section through the globe seen in Figs. 3 and 4, on the line of the equator and then through the walls of the kiosks that the anoramic and c cloramic scenes and o jects lan'of the structure may be understood.

trucks, B, B, the wheels, B, B, of which};

run upon a circular track, 0, C, suppo ted by the foundation, D, of the structures The wheels, B, B, are geared'through the shafts, B, B, with the motors, E, E, which aresecured to the floor, A, and by means of which the floor is rotated around 11 on the track, C, C, and .at a rate of speed etermined by that of the motors and which can be controlled as all similar .mechanisms are controlled. The fioor, A, is also provided with uide wheels, F, F, trunnioned in the trucks,

, B, which run against the side rail, G, se-

cured to the side wall, G.

In Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7 the shafts, B, B,

have the bevel gears, B, B secured thereto r i and which engage with the bevel ear, B, secured to the upright shaft, B, w ich has the spur gear, B, secured thereto which in turn through an intermediate gear,- B, and

a gear, B, secured to the rotating shaft, I

B having the lever, B, and by means of which, the shaft, B", may be made to turn the wheels, C, C, through the intermediate gears and shafts, and thus rotatethe floor, A,

,7 20 otherwise secured thereto, while their u per 25 over the floor, A, as in that form of cono ing provided with an elevator system of i H, H, of the globe have the usual central with all that the latter may sustain or be connected with. The lever, B, can be moved by hand,and c an -be detachable from the rotating shaft, B fa s like' a "wrench, for

5 instance, or an electric or other power motor can be substituted for the lever, or so con nected to the shaft as to permit of the lever being'used instead ofthe motor, whenever it is thought desirable to do so.

The superstructure, whether it be a house,

H, a globe, H, or building of any other design or purpose, is erected upon the floor, A, just the same as it would be constructed if upon a-stationary foundation in the ordinary manner of building construction, and therefore needing no special explanation. The globe building H is shown as bein supported-by the columns, H, H, whicl rest upon the floor, A, and securely bolted or ends support the superstructure by its oermg and outer walls as seen in Fig. 4.

- n the house form shown in Fi s. 1 and 2, the building is, of course, entered y walking struction the building is supposed to be moved only intermittently or at such times as a new position is desired and to be main tained for an indefinite length of time But in the globe form, H, the building is supposed to be in a state of rotation as its normal condition, therefore the interior of the structure is provided with the means of underground access consisting of the stair- 51 ways, I, 1', leading to the passa e ways, I, I, terminatin, at the elevator sha t, J m which 'elevators, J, J, J, J, are arranged and b means of which access is had with the whole interior of the globe as in any ordinary buildpassenger traflic. The elevator mechanism shown 1s of the usual construction and ha'vr ing the framework, J J and cables, J", J,

connecting the cars, J, J, J, J, with motor 5 mechanisms, at the bottom of the elevator shaft, J, and of which, two are shown at J, J. The elevator car startin connections are omitted from the drawings ut which can be of any ordinary construction and can be 5 understood without description. The floors,

opening therein for the elevator mechanism,

as is in any building provided with elevators but-with the important difference that the 55 said floors are not joined at any point with the elevator framework, J, J, nor is any art of the superstructure or the foundation oor, A, connected with the elevator framework, as the latter is constructed so as to be independent of, and separate from the rest of the structure, that the latter may be free to rotate around the elevator structure without touching it, on account of its stationary condition. The inner edges, H, H, .are sup- H, H, to ive the requisite stability to the floors, H, as in any similar building of stationary construction..-

The elevator cars are-in" the shape of a the circular plan of the elevator shaft, but they can be of any other shape if desired as can also be the elevator framework itself if so preferred. By having the elevator mechanism include two or more cars in a building of this character, the passenger service can be divided in small units and the advantage of which can be understood. The elevators I are shown as provided with seats that the spectators may be given a scenic trip up and so down through the lobe without leaving the cars, if so intended. The cars can also be stopped at any floor in the globe and thus allow the passengers to 0 upon the fioors as globe is in motion, as the speed of the latter near the center portions can be slow enough to admit of this without danger to a person. While the interior of the globe can be reached it can also be reached through the openings, H", H", in the elevator inclosure, H, between the bottom of the globe and the foundation floor, the visitor, of course, walking across the latter as. upon the house design foundation floor. This would necessitate a little care in stepping upon the edge of the floor if the latter was in motion at the time,

as is in the case of a person stepping u on an escalator or moving stairway, or the li (e. A moving sidewalk over the edge of the outer portion of the floor A, would practically obviate this objection if it was regarded as necessary. O enings can be made in the globe balconies representing boats, airships, and other objects, and seen at H, H", H H".

K, represents a revolving search light mechanism comprisin rotatable platforms,

K K, K, and upon which the search li hts, 110.. K, K, K, are rotatably mounted. 1850 devices are provided with suitable illuminating and rotating facilities so that rays of pow-v erful lights of different colors can be projected in all directions and at all angles up to the zenith and thus give an illuminating effect in simulation of the northern lights,

the rays of light being interrupted by colored spectacles to give" the intermittent wavy ef- Y fect of the great phenomena of nature. If the current is interru ted (if the lighting is by electricity) at simi ar wavy intermittent effect can be obtained. The nature and con-- struction of this novelsearch light mechanism will be more fully shown and described in another application for Letters Patent, which I intend to make therefor, at another time, so its further details of construction will be omitted from this specification. All

e5 ported hoivever, by the inner short columns,

kinds of objects can be placedupon the foun- 13b ouadrant, as seen in Fig. 5, to conform with 70 in any stationary buil ing, and while the 85 1 by the underground passage ways described, 90

through w iich passengers could get, into 1 -5 dation floor and motion thus imparted to them with the general rotary effect, as can persons standing or seated on chairs thereon, e likewise carried around. In Figs; 1, 2, 6 and 7. the edge of the foundation floor is shown as being provided with a threshold A, which is intended to cover the joint, L, between the floor edge A, and the side wall, G, and for the purpose of 10 preventing snow or ice in winter obstructing the free operation of the mechanism. The rotating mechanism can be given a positive action by having the shafts, B, 13 provided with spur gears M, M, w hich engage with the 15 stationary rack, M, if desired.

The globe can be provided with openings as meansof exit in case of an emergency, as can be understood, and an o ening in the out-er wall is shown at M that t e north pole 2Q illuminating mechanism can be reached and operated. Similar safety 0 enings can be provided in other locations t rough the said wall, as well. The whole outer surface, map outlines of the continents, islands, and so gs-forth, can be illuminated with electric lights as is usually done in decorative illumination. The globe can be made of metal or fire-proof construction. The other form of this invention can be of any ordinary material suit-' able for building purposes. The foundation floor is to be of the requisite strength to sustain the superstructure, and the motor mechanism properly proportioned to give the nec essar rotative. efiiciency. The motor can be o electric construction and the starting mechanism in any part of the building mostconvenient to control the rotation ofthe structure.- A clockwork arrangement can he connected with the motor mechanism so as to 40 regulate the motion of the building according to the daily motion of the sunif that is de sired.

It will be observed that by the form of construction herein shown and described, that there is no central vertical shaft or tube used upon which the structure is pivoted onjourrialed or hung, and as is a necessary member in rotating or revolving structures as usualIy constructed. This is very advantageous, as

.50 it allows the central portion of the structure to be unobstructed and so that it can be used c for other purposes as shown in the drawings, and the roof portion is free from supporting braces and external suspension rods, such as '55 are seen in merry-go-rcunds, carousels, or

like structures. This construction also leaves the view towards and from the superstructure, unobstructed, and necessitates considerably less ground space for its occupancy 9 than other forms of construction in which guys or heavy braces are used to steady the top or upper parts of the structure and having ground foundationsor connections 10-. cated outside of its main base area. It also 5 allows the elevation and general architectural design to be made without recognizing the rotative princi le above the rotative founda tion line, and t ius be literally what it is herein designated, a rotary building, in the full sense of the term. It is to be understood, that the traction rack and gear mechanism seen in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7 can. be reversed in their construction, that i the rack can be secured to the foundation liOOI' and the gears with their operating shaft mechanism can be mounted upon the fixed ground beneath, and be equally operative, and such an arrangement is to be the equivalent alternative of the form shown and described. The novel construction and arrangement of the search light mechanism approximately at the north pole of the form of construction shownin igs. 3 and 4, is original in this invention, and is not merely for illuminating pur os'es, but is mainly intended to illustrate the eautiful northern lights of nature, and is to be regarded as an. important element in combination with the globe representing the earth as it is in connection with the north pole of the design, and as the northern lights emao nate from the north pole of the earth in the northern hemisphere, this whole device and arrangement, is highly instructive and appropriate in this connection. By approximately, I mean at such point on the surface 5 of the sphere as would admit of a search light throwing its rays up to and beyond the zenith.

It can thus be seen that I provide a com-. plete rotating building that can be of any shape or construction and for various purposes of utility, and having a wide range of a plication and service, and one that is simp e in construction, economical in cost of production and in every way adaptable to the 5 objects intended for it. When the building is stationary, it is as good as any other stationary building of like dimensions, so that if the rotative feature is to be discontinued at any time, the building has all the advantages 0 of a stationary structure.

The friction rollers between the rotatable foundation and the track support, have been referred to as wheels, in the foregoing specification, but it is to be understood that 15 any rolling equivalent such as small rollers,.. balls, or like rolling bearings, are intended to be used as may be preferred, and that the same will be included within the scope of this invention. The materials of which this inven- 2 tion are to be constructed, depend of course, upon the form of construction to be adopted, but they may be of wood, metal, or any other material usually employed in architectural structures, and as can be understood without 5 further description.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A rotatable building mounted'upon a 0 v foundation having a circular track support and provided with a side guide mechanism,

substantially as described.

.2. A rotatable building mounted upon a foundation having side guide mechanism by means of which the structure is maintained in a fixed vertical axial position while being rotatable in said position, substantially as described around with the foundation in a vertical axial motion, substantially as described."

5. A rotatable building having panoramic or cyclpramic scenery or objects arranged within 1ts interior so as to be moved around with the rotation of thb superstructure, and a central elevator mechanism provided with vertically moving passenger car or cars, op' erating in a stationary framework and from which car orcars, the si hts within may be viewed, substantially as described.

6. In a rotatable building, the combination of a rotatable structure havin floors therein, and a stationary framed e evator mechanism around which the structure is rotatable and having a vertically moving car or cars, by means of which, assengers can be carried to and from the di erent floors, substantially as described.

7. In a rotatable building, the combination of a rotatable foundation, a track support, friction rollers between the foundation and the track support, a rotating shaft mechanism provided with means for its rotation and a gear or gears secured thereto, and a rack which the shaft gear mechanism engages with and thereby giving a positive traction means of rotation to the foundation, substantially as described.

8. In a rotatable building, the combination of a rotatable foundation, a track support, friction rollers between the foundation and the track support, a rotating shaft mechanism provided with means for its rotation and being connected with the rollers and thereby cause the rollers to 1011 around upon the track and thus give means of rotation to the foundation, and a sideguide mechanism, substantially as described.

9. In a rotatable building, the combina tion of a rotatable foundation, a track sup port, friction rollers between the foundation and the track support, a rotating shaft mech- -mechanism,

anism provided with means for its rotation and being connected with the rollersand having a gear or gears secured thereto, and a rack which the shaft gear mechanism engages with and thereby giving a positive traction means of rotation to the foundation, substantially as described.

10. In a rotatable building, the combina tion of a rotatable foundation, a track support, friction rollers between the foundation and the track support, a rotating shaft mechanism compri ing sections of which each has a driven gear connected thereto, and a driving shaft section with a driving gear attached thereto and which engages with said driven gears and through which traction power is transmitted to the shaft sections and the foundation thereby rotated, substantially as described.

11. In a rotatable building, the combination of a rotatable foundation, and a rotating shaft mechanism comprising the traction sections, B, B having their respective gears, B, B, and the driving shaft B", with the driving gear, 13 secured thereto, and which engages with the driven gears, B, B, and thereby imparts traction power to the traction sections, B, B and thus rotates the foundation, sfnstantially as described.

12. In a re stable building, the combination of a rotatable foundation, a track su ort, a series (-f friction rollers between t 16 oundation and the track support, and a r0- tating shaft mechanism comprising the driving shaft, B, having the driving gear, B, and a series of traction shaft sections each of which has a driven gear engaging with the driving gear, B and each having a roller connected therewith and being provided 7 with a traction gear, and a circular tractio'n rack, M, for the traction gears of the traction sections to engage with, substantially as described.

13. In a rotatable building, the combina tion of a rotszsble foundation, a track suport, friction rollers between the foundation and the track support, a rotatin shaft and a side guide mcc ianism comprising the guide wheels, F, F, and the side guide r G, substantially as described.

14. In a rotatable building, the combination of a superstructure, a rotatable foundation, and mesrs of access into and from the interior of the superstructure under and over the rotatable foundation, substantially as described.

Signed at Xew York city, in the county of day of iyovember, A. D. 1904.

Witnesses:

JAMES KITCHEN, J ABIES Invnvn.

THOMAS F. GAYNOR. 

